


you can be you (but you'll always be mine)

by ofjisoos (swelter)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School Reunion, M/M, also warning for Cheese lots of it bc that's how we like it, alternating povs in different scenes bc what is consistency, famous power couple seokgyu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-30 03:08:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12099390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swelter/pseuds/ofjisoos
Summary: “it’s…” seokmin turns away, and mingyu notes the immediate blanching of his complexion. “jaehyun. oh my god.” his eyes are widened in panic. “ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod. do you think we should go say hi?”mingyu gets the sense that seokmin feels the need to prove his worth, and, well. as supportive as mingyu is of the cause, he supposes can’t deny himself the delight of seeing the adorably awkward side of seokmin making a comeback in the face of his old flame.





	you can be you (but you'll always be mine)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [woozdum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/woozdum/gifts).



> jsjbdsjnd after 8 months i'm finally posting this..... happy suuuuuuuper belated birthday aparna !!! i hope you like this because i thought of you lots when writing !!!! (and i incorporated a whole bunch of things u demanded so there's that... i'm really indulging you to the max here jsyk) also i hope all the inconsistent povs and random flashbacks aren't too hard to follow hhhh i did my best okay i love you thanks for being my friend for a year plus now <3

to say that seokmin is nervous would be a gross underestimation.

 

from the bed, mingyu eyes him pacing back and forth like a pendulum (a human-sized, very handsome, very well-dressed one) and he can’t help but let the tug on the corner of his mouth make way into a fond smile. he leans back against the headboard, looking past seokmin’s figure to scrutinise himself in the mirror. his hair is coiffed to perfection, and he thinks he looks pretty decent for someone who hasn’t gotten a wink of sleep all of the night before. focusing back his attention onto seokmin, he breaks out into a grin, yet again.

 

“it’s gonna be fine.”

 

“what’s taking cheol hyung so long?” seokmin stops in his tracks, throwing a quick glance out the window. from the look on his face, it seems like the driveway is still empty without any trace of seungcheol’s family-sized SUV parked in sight. a tiny frown mars his face, and he surrenders to plopping onto the mattress.

 

mingyu edges towards him, wrapping long arms around seokmin’s waist. “it’s probably kyla. shua hyung said they had to arrange things with the babysitter really last minute. they’re probably just working things out, y’know?” he rests his chin on seokmin’s shoulder. “they’ll be here soon.”

 

seokmin sighs, and nods. “it’s just-- i think we’re late.” he looks up at the clock on the wall for what seems to be the umpteenth time.

 

“relax,” mingyu chides, poking a finger at seokmin’s side gently. “it’s a high school reunion, seokminnie, not the first day of school.”

 

a shaky laugh rumbles from seokmin. “sure feels like it.”

 

“hey. hey,” mingyu’s hand reaches for seokmin’s chin, tilting his face to look him in the eye. “it’s gonna be fine. you look hot.” he nods towards the mirror in front of them. “we look hot. hottest couple in the room, am i right?” it forces another laugh out of seokmin, but this time it is less strained with tension. “you’ve come so far since then, babe. everyone’s gonna be blown away by you.” mingyu smiles at seokmin’s reflection in the mirror, and is relieved to find him returning the gesture with a bright one of his own.

 

“but you know how i am, though,” seokmin’s smile fades a little, his gaze falling onto his lap. “i’m lame and awkward, and i don’t-- i never really know the right things to say.” he turns to look at mingyu, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. “and you-know-who’s gonna be there. that’s double the lameness and awkwardness.”

 

“you are lame and awkward and that’s all you, and that’s fine,” mingyu squeezes him around the middle, “i love you, just the way you are.” he presses a quick kiss to seokmin’s cheek, making the other flush a deep shade of red. “you-know-who’s gonna regret not noticing you all those years before.”

 

as if on cue, seokmin’s phone starts buzzing on the mattress, and seungcheol’s name flashes in sight. mingyu releases seokmin from his grip, letting the other peer out the window whilst answering the call.

 

“hyung! we’ll be down in a bit,” seokmin nods, then cuts the call.

 

“showtime,” mingyu beams, lacing his fingers together with seokmin’s, and leading the way downstairs to seungcheol’s car.

 

“sorry we’re late,” seungcheol turns from the driver’s seat when mingyu and seokmin shuffle into the backseat. “joshua ran through the nanny checklist with the babysitter, like, a million times.” this statement earns him a slap on the chest, which he responds to with an, “ow!”

 

“i had to ring her up at the lastest minute because you told me about this event literally this afternoon,” joshua frowns at him. mingyu notices the small stain on his shirt, chalking it up to either the little (and super cute) monster’s drool or a spot of spilled milk. “i had to pay almost double the usual amount, cheol. and she had to cancel bingo night to take care of our kid. bingo night. you know how much that means to her.”

 

“alright, alright,” seungcheol relents, shooting another quick glance backwards before putting the car in gear, “we’re heading to soonyoung and junhui’s now. you guys good?”

 

“yeah,” mingyu answers. seokmin’s distracted with scrolling through the live updates on twitter, and mingyu has to snatch his phone away to stop him worrying even more. “d’you think we could make a quick drive-through somewhere along the way, too?” his stomach growls under the fine material of his dress shirt, as though to solidify his point.

 

“mmm, we’ll see,” seungcheol’s turning out of the neighbourhood area. joshua throws a sympathetic look at the two of them, because that essentially meant ‘no’. seungcheol’s always been pretty particular about timeliness, probably attributed to his history as an orientation leader each consecutive year in college. or so that’s what mingyu’s been told.

 

“how’s kyla, anyway?” seokmin asks, left with nothing else to do now that mingyu’s got his phone in a stubborn grip. he leans towards the front, resting his arms on the shoulders of the front cushion seats. “haven’t seen her in a while. i miss her.”

 

“she misses you, too,” joshua laughs softly, “keeps pointing out, ‘uncle seokminnie!’ whenever my little pony is on.” seokmin ‘aww’s’ and echoes the coined nickname like it’s the biggest honour in the world. mingyu snorts.

 

“she’s named one of her ponies dokyeommie, too,” seungcheol chuckles from the driver’s seat, and seokmin looks like he’s about to burst out crying in utter joy.

 

the conversation soon switches to enthusiastic reminiscence about their high school days, and mingyu finds himself listening to the chatter more than participating in it. having gone to school in a different district altogether, mingyu hasn’t the vaguest clue about some of the things being discussed -- seokmin and joshua are laughing over the old choir coach famed for giving their team a hard time, and seungcheol mentions a name unfamiliar to mingyu’s ears but one that elicits a disgusted look on the other two young men’s faces. inside jokes fly over mingyu’s head like fired arrows missing their target, but the warmth resonating from shared memories within the car sends a fuzzy feeling right down his own spine.

 

reaching to take seokmin’s hand as the other recounts a tragic incident involving a volleyball and an unknowing freshman, mingyu keeps it in his lap, intending to hold it for the rest of the drive.

 

 

 

 

all things considered, mingyu was pretty lucky for having scored a job so soon after graduating from university. he knew of a few of his classmates who weren’t as fortunate, spending months upon months hanging in the balance without so much of a real direction in life. so his new accounting job wasn’t the most glamorous, but mingyu had learned to be thankful for the little things in life. he was just happy that he could finally make ends meet for himself and kickstart his career towards (hopefully) becoming something bigger.

 

walking into his first desk-bound job, mingyu anticipated a small cubicle for himself, a sizeable pantry for him to hang about with his future co-workers, and a steady 9-to-5 work period that he’d quickly adapt to as soon as he settled in.

 

what he didn’t expect was to see lee seokmin, speaking to the hr officer he was supposed to be liaising with for his first day.

 

“oh, hi!” seokmin looked equally surprised to see him. he was in the same formal garb as mingyu was, crisp shirt buttoned up and hair parted neatly. he didn’t look all that different from how mingyu remembered him back in college, but still, the well-built body was a new addition to his already well-refined facial features. he stood tall, almost the same height as mingyu, with broad shoulders and nicely filled out thighs.

 

_he got hot_ , was what mingyu was thinking, essentially.

 

“hey,” mingyu waved, quickly realising how weirdly juvenile of a gesture that was now that they appeared to be working together in the same office. he put his hand down. “lee seokmin.”

 

“yeah,” seokmin nodded. “you used to date seungkwan, right?”

 

mingyu laughed. “yeah. that happened. kim mingyu, if you don’t recall.”

 

“yes, of course,” seokmin assured him. “i’d be hard pressed to not remember.”

 

the conversation between them came to a stop, the hr officer who was in charge of both of them giving them a tour around the office as part of the initiation process, and the workspace was everything mingyu had imagined, and more.

 

the more was, in fact, attributed to seokmin’s presence in the cubicle right next to his.

 

“well, whaddya know,” seokmin looked over the divider into mingyu’s cubicle. “i’m partners with the legendary kim mingyu.” his eyes danced with mirth.

 

“whatever you heard back in college, they’re probably true,” mingyu shrugged, pushing aside some stray papers on his new desk to make space for a few snack packets he’d snagged from the pantry halfway through the orientation. “i wasn’t exactly the most... virtuous person back then.”

 

“i know.” seokmin’s eyes then widened, and he back-pedalled as fast as the first two words escaped his mouth. “i mean, i’ve heard things. through seungkwan, mostly.”

 

“of course,” mingyu snickered, “if anyone said anything positive about me, seungkwan would not be one of them.”

 

“hey, do you wanna grab lunch together later?” seokmin’s offer was a little out of left field, which he probably realised, given the slight flush to his cheeks. “like, we’re both new and don’t know a lot of people around, so i figured -- you know? yeah.” his growing awkwardness was nothing short of endearing to mingyu, something mingyu sensed was a pre-existing quirk that had withstood his drastic physical change.

 

“sure,” mingyu smiled. “for old time’s sake. or something like that.”

 

‘for old time’s sake, or something like that’ turned out to work extremely well to get them talking amicably. the only lapses in their conversation over hot sandwiches and watered down coffee at the cafe near their office were when they were eating. mingyu found himself thoroughly drawn in by seokmin, and if he was reading the signs correctly, seokmin felt the same way.

 

the mundane routine of going to work, slogging for hours at the office, and heading back home was something that mingyu got used to, as he’d predicted, but the little burst of joy upon seeing seokmin held a sort of novelty that never did quite fade. they became fast friends, always teetering on the edge of being a little bit more. then a night of drinking at a work party resulted in one spent together, and another, and another. it was a transition that’d occurred as naturally as the skies darkening when they walked back to either one of their houses, cheeks flushed and hands clasped together.

 

one night in particular found seokmin leaning over the kitchen island to watch mingyu cook ramen for two. mingyu could feel seokmin’s eyes trailing over his bare back as he emptied the sachet of seasoning into the boiling water. it wasn’t the same lust-filled, hungry gaze he’d given mingyu a couple of hours before, no -- mingyu had taken care of that enough to leave him sated -- but more of an appreciative, loving one.

 

still, mingyu took the opportunity to tease him. turning around to meet seokmin’s stare, he said, “haven’t gotten enough of me, have you?”

 

“you’re just. really hot,” seokmin huffed out a laugh. “i really got lucky with you.”

 

“i got lucky with you, too.” mingyu turned back to the boiling noodles, stirring them around. offhandedly, he asked, “hey, do you wanna meet my parents?”

 

“don’t only partners do that?” mingyu heard a crunch, and turned around to see seokmin biting into an apple he’d apparently stolen from mingyu’s fridge. mouth full, he blinked owlishly, innocently.

 

“seokmin. we’ve been together for a year.”

 

seokmin swallowed. “i thought we were just--”

 

“we just fucked barely an hour ago. and last night.”

 

“bu--”

 

“and the night before that.” mingyu’s smile grew on his face.

 

“i--”

 

“and the night before that.”

 

“oh.” seokmin stared down at the half-bitten apple in his hand, as if it held the answer to the question in his mind.

 

“you’re lucky you’re cute,” mingyu chortled, going over to lean in and kiss seokmin over the counter.

 

seokmin was left breathless when they broke apart. “i love you.”

 

“i love you, too, dummy.” mingyu went back to the stove to check on the ramen.

 

“don’t call me that,” seokmin pouted. “that’s not a nice thing to say.”

 

“what would you rather i call you, then?”

 

“hmmm,” seokmin thinks, “genius seokminnie.” he continued munching on his apple as mingyu lifted the noodles from the pot into two separate bowls, pouring the broth right after, and putting the empty pot into the sink. he turned off the stove and put in a pair of utensils in each steaming bowl.

 

“alright, genius seokminnie,” mingyu carried the two bowls towards the dining table, laughing. “let’s eat.”

 

 

 

 

soonyoung and junhui reside in a higher end part of the suburbs, which is what happens when a man, in pursuit of his dream of becoming a professional dancer, meets a filthy rich heir to a multi-millionaire corporation in china and ends up getting married to him.

 

seokmin’s almost jealous at how easy soonyoung has it. soonyoung had been his best friend all throughout high school — they’d been part of the loser otaku crowd together (joshua, who had been somewhat of their ringleader at the time, likes to insist that they were just hugely passionate about anime, and that there was _nothing_ wrong with that), sworn to marry each other lest they end up old and wrinkly and, worst of all, alone.

 

and yet soonyoung had found love, way before seokmin had, breaking the promise they’d made all those years ago. by right, seokmin should feel a sense of betrayal, conjuring up the memory of soonyoung buzzing in excitement about his whirlwind romance in shanghai. he’d be lying if he said that he’d never once felt a tinge of resentment at witnessing soonyoung and junhui saying their respective vows on the altar, whilst he himself was working a run-of-the-mill job with no discernible love life to speak of.

 

but the thing is, no one could possibly stay mad at soonyoung and junhui, let alone hate them.

 

“hey guys,” junhui greets them with a toothy beam, taking the seat furthest at the back, soonyoung in tow. it’s supposed to be revolting, how they’ve colour-coordinated their jacket lapels, but soonyoung squeezes in next to junhui and god, do they make a fine couple.

 

“yo! the squad back together again!” joshua exclaims, reaching towards the back to fist bump seokmin and soonyoung.

 

soonyoung is laughing, eyes dancing with glee. “we should’ve agreed to wear those old club t-shirts together. i still have mine somewhere around the house.”

 

“i think seungcheol threw mine out,” joshua sighs, shaking his head. “typical.”

 

“what’s that supposed to mean?” seungcheol’s voice raises in pitch, indignant, as he drives the van back out to the main road, “i threw it out because it was infested with holes, jisoo. you can’t be serious about wearing it to the reunion?”

 

“see, this is how you know he doesn’t love me unconditionally like he claims to,” joshua points a thumb in seungcheol’s direction, looking back at the rest of them. “once a golden boy, always a golden boy.”

 

this statement is met with jeers from seokmin and soonyoung, whilst mingyu and junhui look at a loss for words, clearly not piecing together the bits of information to make up the full story at hand.

 

“okay, so,” seokmin clears his throat like he’s about to tell the greatest story of all time, “to fully disclose the long and illustrious romance between cheol hyung and joshua hyung, one must set the scene, so to speak.” he’s leaning forward in his seat, as far as his seatbelt can take him. “hyung, would you like to do the honours of introducing our main cast?” he turns to look at soonyoung.

 

“you’re doing so well, though,” soonyoung chuckles, waving a dismissive hand, “go on.”

 

“alright,” seokmin nods, almost solemnly. “first, the stars of the show — enter, choi seungcheol, golden boy of your average high school population, rife with semi-toxic cliques and affixed stereotypes that would come to mean nothing in a few years’ time. he’s well-built, captain of the football team, top of the class. the works. everyone either wants him or wants to be him. in certain cases, both.”

 

there’s a thump when seungcheol leans his head back against the head of his seat a little forcefully, arms straight and fists clenched on the steering wheel to indicate the stress he’s undertaking. joshua’s already laughing, which is a signal for seokmin to continue with a flourish.

 

“then there’s joshua hong. possibly cutest boy in the anime club after his significant glo-up over the summer of 2011, returning as a high school senior with aplomb.”

 

“why, thank you,” joshua nods in recognition, smiling like ever the gentleman he is.

 

“his newfound confidence includes being _that_ guy with a guitar at lunch period,” seokmin grins, “which manages to catch the attention of seungcheol — whom our favourite weaboo has had a major crush on since freshman year, by the way, which is very vital information — for about 0.5 seconds before he resorts to being just as nondescript a character like the rest of his favourite underclassmen, namely kwon soonyoung and lee seokmin. the latter being, yours truly.”

 

“okay, just so you know,” seungcheol interrupts, “i really did think you were cute.”

 

“right. you just thought i wasn't cool enough to talk to,” joshua deadpans. seungcheol just splutters in response, without a proper comeback.

 

“but friends,” seokmin resumes, holding an index finger in the air to emphasise his point, “that would all change after they leave high school and its soul-crushing facets behind. after slaving away in community college for two years, joshua hong never would’ve thought he would end up in the same academic institution as seungcheol again. but as fate would have it…”

 

“as fate would have it,” soonyoung picks up from where seokmin trails off, “joshua hong walks into his very first music club meeting at his new university to find — lo and behold, the very same choi seungcheol sitting right at the front of the lecture theatre.” he extends an arm towards the driver’s seat. “joshua then proceeds to dash to the bathroom to hyperventilate and curse his entire life and the events presently unfolding in it.” he chuckles. “i would know. shua hyung called me up there and then.”

 

“i almost didn’t walk back into the lecture theatre,” joshua admits, scratching his chin.

 

“buuuut,” soonyoung drum-rolls on the back of mingyu’s seat, “after a little bit of pep talk from me, he managed to brave it out and face the potential love of his life.”

 

“what happened then?” junhui’s fully invested in this dramatic retelling of the tale, a look of great amusement and fascination evident on his face.

 

“remember when we previously mentioned that joshua was _that_ guy at lunch with the guitar?” seokmin quizzes his audience, “well, that came in handy, because choi seungcheol did, indeed, remember him when he saw him in that lecture theatre that day.” he taps seungcheol’s shoulder from behind. “what was it you said to shua hyung again?”

 

seungcheol shrugs. “i don’t know, something like, ‘yo, jisoo, right? this guy plays bomb guitar!’ and i asked him to sing something.”

 

“that’s literally what you said,” joshua confirms. “and then you introduced me to dongho and minki and jonghyun and minhyun -- which, by the way,” he turns to look at the other passengers, with an eye-roll, “he apparently regretted, because, quote, unquote: ‘minhyun and joshua spend a suspicious amount of time in the music room together’.”

 

“minki told you, didn’t he?” seungcheol sighs, fingers drumming on the wheel.

 

“technically it was jonghyun, who was minhyun’s _boyfriend_ ,” joshua emphasises, “and he thought that assumption was hilarious, so he told minki, who told me.”

 

“hey, you didn’t seem interested in my advances at all. i _had_ to assume you were interested in someone else, even if said person was taken.”

 

“okay, enough with the lovers spat,” mingyu laughs, “we’re on the edge of our seats now. what got you two together?” he adds, “like, for real?”

 

“as i was saying,” seungcheol takes it upon himself to continue before either soonyoung or seokmin can start, “jisoo was oblivious, like, i don’t even know how he managed to think that i had no intention of getting into his pants, at all.” he turns to joshua. “you got _really_ hot, babe.”

 

joshua blushes a little, laughing and putting his hand over seungcheol’s and squeezing it.

 

“didn’t you go by ‘coups’ last time?” mingyu glances at seokmin, then at the back of seungcheol’s head, “i think i remember seokmin telling me about it.”

 

“uh, yeah,” seungcheol waves a dismissive hand, “that was some stupid rapper name i came up with that jisoo kept calling me for months because he thought we weren’t ‘at that level yet’.” he continues, “anyway. i asked some people for advice about this situation, and everyone thought i should just straight up tell him because the blatant flirting really wasn’t enough.”

 

“he asked me to hang out in the music room, told me to bring a guitar,” joshua says, “told me something like, ‘i wrote a song and i got the chords on piano but i want to know what it sounds like on guitar so can you teach me’,” and i--” joshua huffs out a laugh, “did _not_ think there was any kind of ulterior motive, legit just thought he wanted help--”

 

“he helped me play the whole fuckin’ song on his guitar without even reading the title and lyrics on the music sheet,” seungcheol’s voice is marked with pure disbelief, “by then, i was basically thinking, ‘goddamnit jisoo’, and just went, ‘did you even read the title and the lyrics?’”

 

“what did it say?” junhui’s voice pipes up from behind.

 

“‘joshua hong, in parentheses: yes you, i really like you',” soonyoung and seokmin chorused in a teasing tone, before bursting into peals of laughter.

 

“and the lyrics were all just, ‘i like you i like you i like you i like you’,” joshua says.

 

“really, cheol hyung, i expected better for a self-proclaimed rapper,” soonyoung says, making junhui laugh.

 

seungcheol ignores him. “and then i kissed him,” he beams, looking over at his husband.

 

“and they lived happily ever after,” soonyoung sighs, “truly a story for the ages.”

 

“well, there was a little drama over the colour of the beddings when i first moved in with him in senior year,” joshua interjects, “but that’s a whole different story.”

 

a piece of memory sparks in seokmin’s mind at that, and he hums in assent before leaning back to settle in the brief period of silence hanging in the air. soonyoung rattles off about something or another after, but seokmin’s tuned it out in favour of replaying images still fresh in his mind. he leans against mingyu’s figure, sidling up to his warmth, and mingyu nudges him.

 

“what’s up? you’re suddenly so quiet,” mingyu whispers, his voice contained in the small space between them. the rest of the them carry on, trading stories from their respective lives, and junhui’s making some kind of lame joke that everyone groans at, and--

 

seokmin’s heart feels full, every inch of him buzzing with contentment at the company he’s found in all of them, especially mingyu.

 

“nothing,” seokmin smiles at him, “i’m just happy.”

 

 

 

 

the day mingyu signed his first contract as a model, seokmin had been the first one to receive the call.

 

he still remembers it like it was yesterday – shaking hands, wide, stubborn smile pulling at his lips, and trembling knees as he walked out of the agency building with his portfolio binder under one arm. the other arm was busy digging around in his pocket for his phone, hitting speed dial and feeling a burst of joy in his chest like no other upon hearing seokmin’s voice on the other end.

 

“i did it, seokminnie,” mingyu almost stumbled over a curb near the sidewalk, the passersby in the bustling street shooting quizzical looks his way. his mind was racing, and his heart was beating wildly as he crossed the pedestrian walk towards the subway station – this was it, he’d hit the jackpot, he’d be leaving his mundane lifestyle behind for something he’d actually be passionate about. all that’s left was to hear seokmin cry out in delight on his behalf, a reassurance of sorts, to make sure that this wasn’t all just some kind of lucid dream.

 

instead, he’d gotten a, “that’s great, gyu.” flat. monotonous. not the enthusiastic congratulations he’d expected.

 

“seokmin.” mingyu slowed down his pace, the smile on his face dropping in an instant. “what’s wrong?”

 

there was a long silence, then a sigh that produced a static crackle on the line. “i got laid off.”

 

mingyu felt his heart thump down to the pit of his stomach. “oh, babe.”

 

“it’s been long overdue,” seokmin huffed out a bitter laugh, “they had to cut down on costs somewhere. you left at the right moment.”

 

“how about – the rest of the accounting department?” mingyu swallowed. entering the subway station, he leaned against the wall of the underground station, watching the busy crowd pass the gates towards the platforms.

 

“they’re looking to combine it with the marketing department. so, they came up with an employee shortlist. i obviously didn’t make the cut.” seokmin’s voice was hollow, like nothing mingyu had ever heard from him before.

 

“i’m coming over,” mingyu said, resolute. “do you want me to get you anything?”

 

“no,” seokmin answered simply, but mingyu had known better.

 

about half an hour later, mingyu was at seokmin’s doorstep, holding a carton of rocky road ice-cream and a generous amount of takeout. curled up on the couch after dinner, mingyu had seokmin’s head on his lap, gently stroking through his hair as they watched reruns of some sitcom on the television. the cramped apartment was in a better state than it had been before mingyu had come over, all the strewn-about clothes sorted out and spinning in the wash. the whirring sounds of the machine from the yard were the only ones accompanying the dialogue from the television.

 

“i’m sorry,” seokmin turned away from facing the screen, breaking the silence between them. he laid on his back, looking up at mingyu. “i ruined your day, didn’t i?”

 

“no, c’mon,” mingyu frowned down at him, “of course you’re gonna be bummed out about this. but everything’s gonna be okay. you’ll find another job soon enough, and everything will go back to how it was.” he pinched seokmin’s cheek. “smile. you don’t wear sadness very well.”

 

“it’s— it’s not gonna be the same,” seokmin closed his eyes, releasing a slow breath. “this is so selfish, gyu, and, like, so _so_ childish but.” his eyelids flutter open, but his gaze failed to meet mingyu’s. “i feel like i’m gonna see so little of you after this.” he groaned, slapping his forearm over his eyes. “it’s stupid. this is stupid. i should be happy for you. and i am, i really am —”

 

“move in with me.”

 

seokmin bolted upright, head spinning to look at mingyu with wide eyes. “what?”

 

“seokmin.” mingyu smiled gently at him, voice soft and comforting. “move in with me. that way, we won’t miss each other as much.”

 

and so that was it. their five years of working in the same corporate building had come to a conclusion, only to open up a brand new chapter of their relationship, starting with seokmin’s arrival with his luggage in mingyu’s own apartment a few weeks later. it wasn’t much bigger than seokmin’s had been, but with mingyu standing in the doorway looking at him with unrestrained delight, it felt a lot like homecoming.

 

“time for a little housewarming,” mingyu’s grin was cheeky, eyebrows lifted in a suggestive manner.

 

“it’s, like, two in the afternoon—” seokmin’s words were drowned out by an involuntary moan as mingyu leaned in to kiss his neck and nip playfully on the skin. “let me unpack first, will you?” he laughed, though making no attempts to discourage mingyu from continuing to trail hungry kisses along his jaw.

 

“we can do that later,” mingyu dragged seokmin to his room, and seokmin was rendered powerless in mingyu’s firm grasp and enchanting smile.

 

“screw you, kim mingyu.” seokmin was backed up onto the bed, looking up at mingyu with a wide smile that threatened to break his face.

 

“gladly.”

 

 

 

 

later, they find that the venue is filled with high school alumni, which means a lot of familiar faces to seokmin, and conversely, a lot of unfamiliar ones to mingyu. seungcheol and joshua lead the way to the entrance, followed by soonyoung and junhui. mingyu holds seokmin’s hand, tight, as they tail the rest of the party, and pays little attention to the stares he gets from some of the guests.

 

“there you are!” someone calls out, and mingyu looks to see someone he’s definitely seen before, a frequent face in seungcheol and joshua’s photos on facebook. _jeonghan_ , he recalls, walks up to them, and goes over to tackle seungcheol with an affectionate hug. he then regards joshua with a scrutinising look, a playful smile on his lips. “well, don’t you look a mess.”

 

“it’ll be your turn soon,” joshua says, punching jeonghan on the shoulder.

 

as if on cue, a tall, very pregnant woman shows up next to jeonghan. nayoung greets them all with a pleasant smile.

 

“you’re glowing! oh my god,” seungcheol exclaims, going over to hug her. “pregnancy looks good on you, narongie.”

 

“don’t push it, cheol,” nayoung folds her arms over her chest, “i’m still not naming my child after you.” she ignores seungcheol’s petulant groan. “also, what took you guys so long?”

 

“we had some trouble with the nanny,” joshua answers, before his husband can, “but it’s all settled now. sorry for being late.”

 

“we’re fashionably late,” junhui counters, and no one really tries to argue with that.

 

“how’s the turnout?” seokmin looks around. he nudges at mingyu, nodding vaguely towards minghao and minkyung off in a distance, and mingyu nods, making note to catch up with them in a while. “looks like almost everyone showed up?”

 

“no one really had a choice,” jeonghan puts an arm around his wife’s shoulder, “nayoung practically hounded everyone to come-- ow!” he rubs his side, having jabbed by nayoung’s elbow.

 

“hello, everyone,” a voice can be heard over the din, and lee chan approaches them looking like puberty did a roundhouse kick on his entire physical being. mingyu knows this purely because he’s only ever seen chan in old pictures of him back when he was in school, including some embarrassing ones traded in the alumni group chat that seokmin had been all too happy to show him.

 

“it’s ‘hello, _hyungs_ ’, to you, little one,” soonyoung wags a finger at him, but engulfs him in a suffocating hug that has the younger groaning in protest anyway.

 

“i heard our little chan has a girlfriend now,” jeonghan leers, not passing up the opportunity to terrorise the younger.

 

“yeah, doesn’t she have the same name as you?” junhui takes a sip of his daiquiri, which he’d apparently taken from one of the passing waitstaff at one point. “isn’t that, like, weird?”

 

“channie is weird in general,” chan sighs, shaking his head. “she didn’t want to believe we were dating until, like, two months ago.”

 

“aww. 2chan,” joshua laughs over his self-anointed portmanteau, and chan whines over the teasing voices around him chanting, “2chan, 2chan, 2chan”.

 

in between poking fun at chan and going around getting acquainted with seokmin’s former schoolmates, mingyu notices the decreasing tension in his partner’s shoulders. seokmin, in his natural state, is friendly and ever-willing to engage in lighthearted conversation, and it’s the best version of seokmin mingyu likes to see. his eyes are alight with enthusiasm, his shoulders thrown back in a self-assured stance, and his blinding smile ever-present.

 

mingyu’s relief over seokmin’s confidence is short-lived, however. mingyu’s in the middle of talking with wonwoo and his book-editor-slash-girlfriend myungeun when seokmin inhales sharply, diverting his attention. seokmin’s staring out at a point in the distance -- mingyu’s line of vision is too crowded with people to figure out exactly what or who it is.

 

“hey, what’s wrong?” mingyu places a hand on the small of seokmin’s back.

 

“it’s…” seokmin turns away, and mingyu notes the immediate blanching of his complexion. “jaehyun. oh my god.” his eyes are widened in panic. “ohmygod ohmygod ohmy _god_.”

 

mingyu looks over the crowd, trying to recall an old picture of jaehyun from seokmin’s school yearbook, and-- _ah_.

 

jung jaehyun’s hard to miss, and seokmin’s description of him that mingyu has heard countless of times matches him to a T. jaehyun looks significantly older now, which is just as well, since it’s been a decade or so since they’d left school, but still as strikingly handsome as the 17-year-old boy mingyu remembers seeing in the yearbook photo. he’s conversing with a few others at the same table near the front of the hall with a tall, vaguely familiar man sitting next to him, the gap between them miniscule.

 

“okay, yeah, i see what you mean,” mingyu nods, feeling a half-impressed, half-amused smile tugging at his lips. “he’s a god. but,” he frames his face with his hands met at the heels, just under the chin, assuming a flower pose right in seokmin’s face. “i’m still better looking, right?”

 

“oh, shut up,” seokmin slaps him on the chest, but laughing all the same. his smile quickly dissolves and replaced, once again, with the anxious look he was wearing previously. “do you think we should go say hi?”

 

“i mean, sure,” mingyu’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline, “if you’re comfortable with it?” he grins. “it’d be a prime opportunity to show me off, hey?”

 

seokmin slaps him again, but breathes in, then out in a huff. “okay. let’s go.”

 

mingyu gets the sense that seokmin feels the need to prove his worth, and, well. as supportive as mingyu is of the cause, he supposes can’t deny himself the delight of seeing the adorably awkward side of seokmin making a comeback in the face of his old flame.

 

the two of them head over to the table, and mingyu pats seokmin’s back reassuringly when seokmin almost halts in his steps. jaehyun appears to have noticed them, a look of mild surprise on his face. recovering from it, though, he smiles, revealing deep-set dimples and pearly white teeth. mingyu absently wonders why his own modelling agency hasn’t tried to recruit this man yet. or at least, not to his knowledge, anyway.

 

“hey,” the one syllable that seokmin expels from his mouth is shaky, and mingyu sees him visibly gulp, “jaehyun.”

 

“hey,” jaehyun echoes, narrowing his eyes, “uh… seokmin, right?”

 

“yeah! oh my god, you remember,” seokmin shout-whispers, and mingyu clears his throat.

 

“i’m mingyu,” mingyu extends a hand towards jaehyun, flashing an equally radiant smile. “i’ve heard so much about you.”

 

“oh, really?” jaehyun laughs, shaking his hand. it’s polite, not at all condescending, but not entirely wholehearted either. “i hope they’re nice things.”

 

“oh, for sure,” seokmin nods quickly, “i would never say anything bad about you.”

 

there is an awkward silence between them for a beat, neither of them appearing to know exactly what to say. the man next to jaehyun comes in to save the moment, however. he regards mingyu with a glance and then goes, “oh, kim mingyu! we’ve met before.”

 

mingyu racks his brains, trying to put a name to the face in front of him. “johnny!” he says, the realisation rapidly dawning on him. he leans to give the other man a half-hug, patting his back as he does so.

 

“he did a pictorial and interview with me sometime last year,” johnny explains to jaehyun, “you know, the one i showed you?”

 

“the one in the bahamas?”

 

“uhuh,” johnny nods. he turns to seokmin with a smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. “i’m johnny. i write for _cynosure_ , the fashion magazine? it’s nice to meet you, seokmin. you two make a great couple.” he looks around at the table, gesturing for seokmin and mingyu to sit. the two of them comply.

 

“i’m a fan of your covers,” johnny adds, smiling at seokmin. “you have a great voice.”

 

“oh, thank you!” seokmin appeared flustered, and mingyu couldn’t help the fond smile appearing on his own face. at this point, seokmin should be used to all the compliments, but mingyu supposes it’s just typical in his nature to be humble about his talents.

 

from that point onwards, mingyu and johnny manage to hold a decent amount of conversation between them, but mingyu can’t shake off the lingering awkwardness between seokmin and jaehyun. the two seem to have very little to say to each other, the bits of small talk mingyu catches sound barely friendly, edging more towards civil, and stiflingly so.

 

“i’ve heard a lot about your legendary cookies, seokmin,” johnny remarks. mingyu offers a silent thanks to him for being such a good conversationalist.

 

at this, mingyu notices jaehyun cringe, but seokmin perks up immediately. “jaehyun told you about them?”

 

mingyu nudges him. “what’s this about?” he’s a little surprised seokmin had never told him this story, considering the countless times seokmin has talked about his one and only high school crush before.

 

“oh, uh…” seokmin blushes. “i used to bake these cookies with the recipe i got from home econs, like. these... sugar cookies,” he gestures, showing the approximate size, “and i couldn’t ever really talk to jaehyun because he was just too handsome, so. every friday, i’d wait at his locker at lunch to give them to him.” he shrugs, laughing weakly. “it was the least i could do.”

 

“aww,” johnny laughs, while jaehyun shifts a little awkwardly in his seat, but maintains a smile on his face, albeit a little strained. “that’s sweet. even if jaehyun’s stomach didn’t quite agree with them.”

 

“um…” the delight on seokmin’s face fades, forehead crinkling in confusion. “what?”

 

“it’s-- i,” jaehyun interrupts, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. he seems to struggle for a bit, thinking of the right words to say. “you didn’t know back then, but they… the first time around, i got stomach flu.”

 

at that, mingyu finds himself openly gaping, but quickly schools his expression into something more neutral. seokmin looks stricken, barely knowing what to say himself.

 

“but… you took them… every time…” seokmin mumbles. mingyu feels his hand grasping his own under the table.

 

“i didn’t want to hurt you,” jaehyun glances at johnny, who looks like he regrets bringing the subject up. “i mean, you took time to make them, and all.”

 

“i’m sorry,” johnny blurts, “i thought you knew. and he meant well, seokmin,” johnny attempts to reassure him, “though yeah, jaehyun _should’ve_ told you.” he shoots a seemingly scolding glance at jaehyun.

 

words seem to have completely escaped seokmin. mingyu’s mind is racing on red alert, finding a way to quell the intolerable atmosphere between them.

 

then respite comes, in the form of seungcheol and joshua approaching the table.

 

“josh, hey! small world!”

 

joshua and johnny do a series of complicated steps in an elaborate handshake and seokmin, in mingyu’s peripheral vision, seems to deflate a little out of relief that the attention is no longer on him and jaehyun. seungcheol and joshua settle on the other side of the table, and johnny quickly becomes preoccupied with a conversation with the two. jaehyun mumbles something about getting a drink, and leaves the table.

 

“fuck,” seokmin mutters immediately after, burying his face in his hands.

 

“hey, you really didn’t know?” mingyu rests a hand on seokmin’s shoulder.

 

“no. i can’t believe this,” seokmin turns his entire body to face mingyu, his back to the rest of the table. “i can’t believe he’s still so beautiful! did you see his face? he’s... glowing. like an actual freaking _angel_ . and i can’t believe he remembers me… not because of _me_ , but because the cookies i gave to him every goddamn week in junior year gave him diarrhea.”

 

mingyu shushes his prattling, rubbing his hand down seokmin’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “hey, at least you made a big impression?”

 

seokmin shoves him and mingyu playfully shoves back, resulting in a fit of shared laughter between them.

 

“it’s okay, the worst is over,” mingyu wraps his arm around seokmin, bumping his head against seokmin’s temple gently. he lets his eyes scan the scene around them as he continues rubbing seokmin’s side, and it is then that he notices a familiar face amongst the crowd -- one related to his own past love life.

 

“wait, is that… seungkwan?” he squints, craning a neck to see properly. he spots another person next to his cherub-faced ex-boyfriend, an arm curled right around his waist. “and hansol?”

 

“yeah. didn’t you know? they got together, like, a few months ago. hansol made him a mixtape professing his love and seungkwan all but swooned over it. soonyoung hyung told me about it.”

 

“oh my god,” mingyu leans back in his seat, shaking his head. “a mixtape. of course.”

 

seokmin turns to him. “it’s probably better than anything you’ve ever done whilst dating him, huh?”

 

“hey, i cooked him a full-course meal on our first date!” mingyu retorts, “and it was edible, just so you know.”

 

seokmin flinches. “too soon.”

 

mingyu squeezes his shoulder. “sorry, babe.”

 

“i’m gonna walk around for a bit,” seokmin gets up from his chair. “stretch my legs for a bit, maybe try and recover my pride. wanna come with?”

 

“nah, i’ll just chill for a bit,” mingyu taps at his unfinished glass of wine on the table, “you go on ahead.”

 

“okay. be right back,” seokmin’s hand lingers on mingyu’s cheek for a second before walking away.

 

 

 

 

the amount of hours seokmin couldn’t see mingyu for in a day was merely a small price to pay for the happiness that mingyu had found in his new career.

 

seokmin remembers being woken up at the ass crack of dawn, mingyu placing a soft kiss on his forehead before leaving to his first shooting location, followed by a jam-packed schedule for the rest of the day. an hour would then pass since his first awakening, and seokmin would’ve gathered enough strength to hobble to the bathroom and wash up before getting something to eat in the kitchen -- a hot pocket, he would think, because he’d never been the most adept at cooking -- only to later find a sticky note on the countertop saying, _breakfast in the microwave oven. love you! xo_

 

for the first week after moving in, seokmin indulged in playing house with mingyu in between looking for job vacancies. he tried his best to clean up after himself more than he ever did in his old apartment, and helped out with a few household chores mingyu couldn’t tend to. only intending to return mingyu’s sweet gestures and hard work, he’d once attempted to cook dinner for his boyfriend. key word: attempt, which resulted in an inedible concoction he would later find hell in scrubbing off of one of mingyu’s precious nonstick pots.

 

“you didn’t have to,” mingyu shook his head, all but throwing himself into the chair at the dining table. he eyed the dishes laid out for two with an amused smile. “you cooked?”

 

“uh,” seokmin set the glasses on either side of their plates, “no, not exactly.” he scratched the back of his head, biting his lip meekly. “i mean, i did try. earlier. but it didn’t work out.” he sat down opposite of mingyu, reaching out to squeeze mingyu’s hand on the table. “you’d forgive me, right, if i said that in my earnest efforts, i actually kind of…” he cringed, “...ruined one of your pots?”

 

mingyu’s expression darkened, but only very slightly. “let’s see the damage.”

 

seokmin brought out the pot from where it had been resting in the sink, traces of his failed cooking still sticking to the base.

 

“it’s fine,” mingyu laughed, much to seokmin’s relief. “just douse it in hot water later. the stains will come off easier then.”

 

the rest of dinner time went on well, and seokmin found himself enraptured in mingyu’s animated recounts of the day’s events. from the renewed light in his eyes to the everlasting beam on his face, this new mingyu is a drastic change from the mingyu seokmin once knew. the old mingyu was always a little tired, even if he tried his best to plough through the day. the new mingyu was more energised, despite his busy days, and seokmin thought, _oh. that’s what it’s like to finally find your place in the world_.

 

“so, anyway,” mingyu stopped his chatter to pick up a piece of chicken and chew on it. “found any vacancies today?”

 

“uh,” seokmin blushed, just the slightest bit. his grip on his chopsticks tightened, and he shuffled in his seat awkwardly. “no- not yet.” he looks down at his plate, a little embarrassed of how stagnant his day had been in comparison to mingyu’s. he did have a chance to look through the newspaper, and the emails from the few job search websites he’d put on alert, but nothing seemed to really call out to him.

 

“okay,” mingyu nods. “that’s okay.” he pauses. “you should sing.”

 

seokmin’s eyes widened, instantly taken aback. “what do you mean?”

 

there was a moment of contemplation on mingyu’s expression, before he continued, “my manager and i had a talk today. about us, like- you and me. i made it really clear that i didn’t want to be in the closet and i want to make our relationship public. i have no intention of hiding you and my feelings for you from the rest of the world.” the hard lines around his expression created an uncharacteristically austere look on him. “so, the pr team was suggesting that, you know, we should…” he paused, as if looking for the right words to phrase what he wanted to say. “we should continue to be the way we are… without reservations.”

 

the realisation hit seokmin a little harder than he’d anticipated. he hadn’t really spared a thought as to how mingyu’s development was going to affect their relationship until now. “you mean, they’re intending to publicise our relationship for media attention?”

 

“yes,” mingyu answered, “but seokmin.” he reached over to take seokmin’s hand across the table. “it doesn’t matter, okay? i know we’ve mostly been low-key, and like, this all sounds incredibly gross and exploitative, but please know that i’m agreeing to this out of genuine pride for having you as my boyfriend. for my identity. as for the publicity, we’ll let it work itself out, and whether it turns out to be good or bad, i don’t actually give a fuck. i just know i love you, and i want to show you off to everyone else.”

 

“what does this have to do with my singing?”

 

“i’ve been showing some of your covers to my team. and they loved it. they think you’re talented, that you deserve a following of your own. and i think so, too. i mean, it’s not so bad, is it? you get to do what you love, and get recognition for it.”

 

seokmin thought back to all the times he’d sung by himself, all the times when he was younger and more naive, with dreams of being a singer that never really did come into fruition. his life had taken its designated course, unspectacular and as normal as it could get up until this moment. this was a good opportunity for him for sure, but the fear holding him back paralysed him, stopping him from giving a solid answer. he wasn’t even really sure of what he was scared of -- public disapproval, probably, or failure.

 

then he looked at mingyu. every minute detail of the expression on his face splayed out his unadulterated adoration and faith and sincerity, and seokmin felt a little braver. mingyu always made him feel a little braver.

 

“okay.”

 

“yeah?” mingyu beamed.

 

“i’ll finally know what it’s like to be the arm candy, like soonyoung.” seokmin laughed.

 

“you’ll be the best one,” mingyu leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips, and the deal was sealed.

 

it started off small -- seokmin set up a soundcloud account that was mostly frequented by family and friends, but later gained a solid following from mingyu’s constant promotions on instagram. video posts of mingyu with seokmin’s covers blaring in hotel rooms whenever he was away were captioned, “listening to my boyfriend’s covers makes the homesickness a little more bearable,” followed by a row of sad-face emojis and heart emojis. seokmin was thankful enough for the attention it reeled in towards his own endeavours, but the actual sentiment behind it was what mattered to him most.

 

it didn’t take very long for seokmin to become a regular on mingyu’s instagram posts, too, and media attention gravitated towards them like bees to honey. fans of theirs adopted the name ‘seokgyu shippers’, and every now and then, they’d be stopped by random people in the street for a photo or an autograph.

 

even when seokmin started going to work again (this time, at a particularly swanky, perk-filled office he’d been lucky enough to somehow get a job at), his co-workers could barely leave him alone about his boyfriend.

 

“that’s wild,” mingyu chuckled, after listening to seokmin’s recounts of a few fan letters left at his desk addressed to the two of them. he was somewhere far away, paris or the bahamas or somewhere seokmin couldn’t remember, but his familiar laughter supplied seokmin with more warmth than the blankets he was snuggled in.

 

“it is,” seokmin agreed. he yawned, loud and big. “what time is it over there?”

 

“3 p.m,” mingyu answered. “you sound tired. isn’t it past midnight already?”

 

“yeah…” seokmin rolled around in bed, his phone tucked between his pillow and his ear. “i should go to sleep. early start tomorrow.”

 

“mhm. you should. good night, love.”

 

seokmin had a mind to kick up a fuss, beg for a few more minutes of mindless talking. but he refrained, knowing full well that mingyu was probably in between schedules, and wouldn’t be able to spare the time to let him mumble sleepily and eventually snore in his ear.

 

“i miss you. good night.”

 

“i miss you, too. four more days.”

 

“four more days,” seokmin sighed. the line was cut off before mingyu could properly say his goodbye, the signal wherever he was weak and not enough to sustain the long-distance connection between them.

 

“four more days,” seokmin reassured himself. he placed his phone aside, turned off the bedside lamp, and sunk almost immediately to sleep, anticipating the day mingyu would return to his side.

 

 

 

 

getting to talk to his former classmates succeeded in getting seokmin to forget about the incident with jaehyun and johnny, at least for a little while. he’s lingering over at the refreshment table, looking over his choice of hors d'oeuvres when he hears a voice calling his name from behind. he turns around, almost dropping his plate of savoury pastries. _okay, breathe_ , seokmin reminds himself.

 

jaehyun stands before him, hands in his pockets and a careful smile on his face. it really is unfair, how he’s still so good-looking even after all this time. his hair is dyed brown, not the jet-black hue seokmin remembers from school, the strands falling in a lightly tousled way. it screams ‘effortless style’ rather than ‘messy bedhead’, the kind seokmin thinks he could never possibly recreate on himself.

 

“uh, hi?” seokmin tries not to sound too accusatory, going for ‘yes, may i help you?’ rather than ‘what could you possibly want from me after embarrassing me like that?’

 

jaehyun keeps a distance between them, as if somehow sensing seokmin’s discomfort. to any other person, it’d be a little comical how prey-predator the whole scene looks, but the two of them are all-too aware of the gravity of the situation. between them are years of unspoken words and unresolved tension, heavy like an anchor, pinning them right on the spot.

 

“hey, sorry about earlier. johnny and i didn’t mean to embarrass you. and i’m,” jaehyun seems to hesitate for a beat, then ploughs on, “i just gotta say, i’m sorry if i ever led you on back then.”

 

“you did make me think i had a chance for a while,” seokmin can’t keep the bitterness from his voice, but tries to disguise it with a small smile. he remembers the ache he’d felt all those years ago -- even if it’s been so long, seokmin thinks, you never really do forget the longing ache of your first love. “but then, halfway through senior year, you started dating chaeyeon, and…”

 

“i know. i didn’t know what to say to you, y’know? it’s not like we were ever properly friends.” jaehyun sighs. “i should’ve at least told you about the cookies.”

 

seokmin hums. “it’s all good.” he thinks he means it this time. “i mean, i really wasn’t pulling some kind of ‘if i can’t love you, no one can’ kind of thing, just so you know,” he jokes, and it elicits a laugh out of jaehyun. the atmosphere feels lighter now. “are you still with chaeyeon?”

 

“oh, no. we broke up freshman year of college,” jaehyun slips his hands out of his pockets, “johnny’s my fiance.”

 

“oh? oh. _oh_.” it’s only then that seokmin notices the ring around jaehyun’s finger, recognising an identical one on johnny’s earlier.

 

jaehyun chuckles. “yeah. we’ve been together for a few years now.”

 

“well. send me a wedding invitation, will you?”

 

“i will. sorry i couldn’t make it to yours.” the expression jaehyun’s wearing is so sincerely rueful that it makes seokmin’s heart swell in his chest.

 

“i’m holding you on to that,” seokmin grins. he looks around. the night is still young, with lots of people he’s yet to catch up with, and he’s feeling a lot better than he was before. “well, see you around.”

 

jaehyun nods his reply, and seokmin’s about to turn around and head over to jihoon and kyungwon over at the photo booth props table (“i’m _not_ wearing that!” “c’mon, jihoonie, it looks cute on you!”) when he hears, “hey, seokmin?”

 

he turns back around to face jaehyun, who has a smile on his face. well-meaning. genuine. he’s as sweet as seokmin remembers him. _but he’s no mingyu_.

 

“you’re lucky. he really loves you. i can see that. and i’m happy for you.”

 

“thank you,” seokmin smiles. for the first time since arriving at the venue, he feels completely, totally at ease. “i’m happy for me, too.”

 

 

 

 

nights on which seokmin and mingyu got to take time for themselves without being interrupted by incessant calls and texts from mingyu’s manager were hard to come by, but when they did, the two of them made the most out it. 

 

this was the first weekend mingyu had spent in a while at home instead of at social mixers or away on overseas photoshoot schedules, long legs stretched out under the coffee table as he looked over his car token on 'the game of life board' splayed on it. the tv was playing something neither of them were paying attention to. mingyu was shuffling the career cards and the silence blanketing over them as they concentrated on the game was comfortable, homely.

 

“okay,” mingyu nodded, plucking a card out of the deck in his hands. he flipped it over. “professional model.”

 

“fitting,” seokmin chuckled. he reached to spin the arrow on the number wheel, watching it come to a stop at number 8. he moved his token car eight steps forward across the path on the board. “payday.”

 

as mingyu sorted out the currency notes from the disorganised stack on his left to give seokmin his appropriate amount of salary, seokmin found himself staring at the two little human pegs occupying his blue token car.

 

“hey, would you marry me?”

 

mingyu didn’t look up from counting the stack of notes in his hands. “yeah.”

 

“wait,” seokmin straightened up. “wait, wait. do you mean ‘yes, someday’, or do you mean ‘yes, now’?”

 

mingyu handed over the complete amount of seokmin’s salary with a raised eyebrow. “well, what did you mean?”

 

“uh, now?” seokmin’s heart was pounding a little too loudly in his ears now. he tried to play off his nervousness with, “before you dump me for the cool celebrities you’ve been hanging out with every other night.”

 

“shut up, you know i love you,” mingyu rolled his eyes, spinning the number wheel until it stopped at number 2.

 

“so… like,” seokmin leaned over, taking his hand off of the wheel and pressing his fingers against it. “ _now_ , now?”

 

“yes,” mingyu grinned, clasping seokmin’s hand with both of his. “seokmin, i want to marry you. _now_ , now.”

 

“oh my god,” seokmin gasped, eliciting a laugh from mingyu. “this is really happening.”

 

“you know you’re supposed to do these things with a ring, right?” mingyu teased, his index finger going to boop seokmin on his nose.

 

“well,” seokmin looked around. “uh…” he grabbed a rubber band that held a few stray property cards, freeing them from it. “would this do?”

 

“no, no, no, hold on.” mingyu scrambled to get up, almost falling over in his haste. he steadied himself before dashing to their room, leaving seokmin behind to gape openly until he came back, a small velvet-encased box in hand. he knelt down, looking a little breathless.

 

seokmin’s jaw dropped. “how long have you been keeping that?”

 

“a week or so,” a faint pink tinged mingyu’s cheeks. “couldn’t figure out when to do it. you wouldn’t believe how many times i called cheol hyung out of panic because of it.”

 

“holy…” seokmin’s head was spinning. everything was happening so fast, and he was sure he was going to pass out at this rate.

 

“i wanna do this properly.” mingyu shuffled over to seokmin on his knees. “stand up.”

 

seokmin slowly got up to his feet, barely processing what was going on.

 

“lee seokmin,” mingyu was looking up at him, with the box open in one hand, revealing a wedding ring. holding seokmin’s hand with the other, he was barefaced and his hair was mussed and his t-shirt was stained with guacamole they’d been eating with tortilla chips earlier. he was perfect -- _this_ , seokmin thought, _is perfect_. “will you marry m--”

 

seokmin sunk to his knees, leveling his face with mingyu’s and kissing him before he could even finish his sentence. “yes. yes yes yes yes yes ye--” he was promptly cut off by mingyu resuming their kiss.

 

it was safe to say that they never did finish their game of life. the strewn about token pieces and cards and notes and whole assembled board were left behind as they made their way to their room, the rush of exhilaration bursting through seokmin like it was their first time all over again.

 

 

 

 

when seokmin comes back to the table, mingyu’s on his third glass of wine. he’d been talking with various people who’d come and gone from the table, each more amiable than the next, but he was already starting to miss having seokmin by his side.

 

“you’re baaaack,” mingyu holds out his arms towards seokmin, forgetting all sense of maturity and self-restraint. “i missed you.” he wraps his arms around seokmin’s waist.

 

“i was gone for, like, 15 minutes,” seokmin laughs. “you wanna dance?” he nods at towards the dance floor right in front of the stage, where a live band is playing. various couples are swaying to the music, and mingyu’s reminded of prom and school dances and school in general, and wishes he’d experienced all of those years with seokmin, as awkward adolescents and all. but he’s always been one to live in the now, so he seizes the moment, and agrees.

 

“yes,” mingyu stands up, and pulls seokmin towards the floor. they do a little step-step-step, safe and slow, because attempting anything extravagant doesn’t seem like a very viable option unless you’re xu minghao.

 

“i’m so happy i came here with you,” seokmin’s voice is soft and his hands on mingyu’s waist are warm. “i’m happy we’re together, gyu.”

 

“me, too,” mingyu sighs contentedly, pressing his forehead against the other’s.

 

just a little distance away, jeonghan and nayoung try their best to accommodate nayoung’s protruding belly as they dance. seungcheol and joshua have only eyes for each other, which would be gross if mingyu isn’t feeling the exact same way about seokmin in this very space and time.

 

“i love you, genius seokminnie,” mingyu buries his nose in seokmin’s hair as seokmin giggles at the nickname. he decides he’ll be damned if he ever lets go of the man in his arms, the one person in his life that’s stuck with him through the past years, with a supply of never-ending faith in each other to last a lifetime. “i really do.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading! also, special thanks to niz for reassuring me that my writing isn't total shit ha you're the best <3


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